Pioneer Day

Yesterday was Pioneer Day here in Utah. The state is celebrating the anniversary of the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley. As a result, all state offices were closed, and there was a big parade. I took the day off and spent it with my family and in the process, helped a good friend who had some trouble with missed flights and needing a helping hand in a time of trouble.

It was all together an enjoyable day. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters B, O, O, M, and the number 45.

How Much More Can I Slack!

Boy! I've really slacked on my postings. There is no excuse for it, so I will offer up none.

My son is more that 3 months old and gaining weight. he regularly smiles and Mommy and me and occasionally adds in a coo. :)

I've actually started working again in the basement of the house. As you'll recall, I basically took 3 months off, but I've gotten back into it. If I do something on it each day, I feel like I'm making progress and I'm a lot more motivated to do more. Perhaps, I'll post some pictures or something - yeah right, re-read the title, please.

I'm trying not to be so grouchy in my posts, as you'll see by the fact that it's been so long since I posted ANYTHING on my flame blog.

I'm also attempting to reduce the size of the bellybag (pronounced FAT) attached to the front of my frame.

We're going on vacation soon and I'm getting pumped up to see some old friends and have a chance to rest and relax a bit.

That's what's going on. I'll try to be better in the future.

This post has been brought to you by the letters R, S, T, L, N, E, and the number 26.

Smile!!!

I think I got my first smile from my son yesterday. I'm happy now. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters S, M, I, L, E, and the number 119.

My son and Religion...

My son is 2 months old today and is being blessed in the LDS religion in about 1.5 hours. I'm still not sure how I feel about that particular religion since I'm not a member of it. (FYI: I have absolutely NO plans to join it as there are some aspects of it that I cannot get behind or agree with. As a result of my feelings, I will not join so don't ask me to do so.) The ceremony itself seems innocuous since the participants are simply asking a greater power to bless him.

At any rate, my son is healthy and is two months old today. I'm happy about that. :)

I need to go shower and the like so I can go hold my son during the ceremony not that I really want to go to that church, or any church for that matter (I have an issue with organized religion if you haven't heard), but I want to be there for my son though he won't really know about it unless he sees pictures later.

Anyway, the shower calls.

This post was brought to you by the letters M, J, H, and the number 112.

My Take on Jon and Kate...

Did he cheat? Did she cheat? I don't know for sure. The only people who know for sure are Jon and Kate.

Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? No. We have a crazy man on the other side of the planet testing nuclear bombs and test firing missiles. He's possibly escalating to war, but we're focused on Jon and Kate.

Our country's in the middle of a large financial issue. Unemployment is climbing, our auto industry is in a shambles, but we're focused on a couple who are gravy-training their kids and having some marital problems. It looks like they are making about $50k per episode and I think that means 40 episodes a year which means about $2 million a year. I'd love to make that, but I'm not sure I'd like to have all the other that comes with it.

We can understand why the Octo-mom wants a TLC show of her own, can't we?

I think we're concentrating on the wrong things. Does it really matter if they cheated on each other? No. That's between the two of them. Would I blame them for cheating? From what I've seen of the show, Kate is horrible to Jon, so I think I could understand why he would want to step out. I don't see why she would step out on him at all. I just can't see it. He takes all the crap she dishes out and seems to still care about her.

Of course, this is all based on what I see of the show occasionally, so the real life events that aren't on camera, I don't know about.

I think we should just stop worrying about what they are or aren't doing with other folks and try to better our own lives.

This post was brought to you by the letters R, U, F, Q, and the number 8.

Worst Week Ever!

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. I planned to post something last week but it was just such a bad week that I couldn't.

So, last Monday was my birthday. Did I tell you all that I generally hate to celebrate my birthday? Well I do because I typically don't have very pleasant birthdays. I attempt to keep the date secret because of this very reason. In this case, however, it was just the start of one of my worst weeks ever and most definitely the worst birthday ever.

Monday morning started out by me getting a royal ass-chewing by my boss for an error I made the prior morning during a service maintenance window. Later, a new task was sprung on me with no notice and the Project Manager's instructions were less than clear. I got confused, though I didn't know it at the time and spent the entire night up babysitting the servers. Not good.

Tuesday was just bad because my confusion from the previous night resulted in a business disruption and that earned me another ass-chewing and a write-up.

Wednesday through Friday, I was ridden hard and nit-picked as a result of the events of Sunday and Monday.

On top of all that, I was on call all week so I couldn't even get good sleep any night. The company executed some lay-offs on Friday. I made it through the lay-offs, but I wasn't so certain for part of the week. Once I was written up, though, I figured I was OK since I didn't think they would go through the trouble to write me up if they planned to lay me off a few days later.

I'm not saying I didn't deserve the ass-chewings. On the contrary, I screwed up and certainly should have been chewed upon. What I'm saying, is that I do not seem to have very good luck with my birthdays. As a general rule, I'd like to ignore them and treat them as a normal day. I'm no longer convinced that's a good idea.

We'll see about next year, eh?

On the bright side, the Queen got me a Bag of Holding for my birthday and I'm pleased about it. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters W, T, F, and 4.

Not Enough Time...

... in a week to complete all the things I need to do, which is why I haven't updated you all in an age. Basically, our little Prince threw a monkey wrench into our plans of getting things done in time for his arrival by joining us 4 weeks prior to his due date and 2-3 weeks prior to when the doctor wanted to deliver him.

As a result of the turmoil, the projects have been thrown into disarray. The renovation to the basement has ground to a halt and I'm focused on completing the Prince's quarters of the castle and getting the carpets cleaned in that wing. The last of the painting in the his room was completed last night at 1:30am. The carpets are scheduled to be cleaned tomorrow afternoon. :)

I have to clear all the items from our upstairs bedrooms tonight by myself which is only an issue for 2 or 3 pieces of furniture. The rest of it is either small or can be disassembled so it is more a matter of just doing it. It's still a lot of work though. I'll post pics of his room once I've reinstalled all the outlet covers, blinds, curtain rods, door hardware and put in all the furniture. You'll get to see the completed room soon enough. :)

I'll try to be better about keeping you all updated even if I happen to be exhausted at the time. :) Keep checking his blog or the Queen's blog for other updates.

This post has been brought to you by the letters T, I, R, E, D, and the number 3.

Surprise!

The prince decided to arrive early! He graced us with his presence at 12:43pm mountain time today. At 36 weeks of gestation, he weighed in at 6lb 1oz and measured 18.5in long.

Welcome to the kingdom, my son!

This post was brought to you by the letters B, O, Y, and the number 3.

Sickness in the Kingdom

There is a bit of sickness in my kingdom. The youngest princess appears to have another ear infection and I am positive I have a sinus infection.

The Queen is busy baking the prince, who should arrive this month, so she's pretty uncomfortable.

The royal cat got completely covered in mud and as a result had to be kept outside for an extended time as he got himself cleaner and thus, was miserable. He's also pretty pissed at me for summarily tossing him out of the castle when he came in all covered in mud - twice!

The oldest Princess is so far unaffected by sickness - other than being awoken by her sister's cries. I'm hoping to the lords of Kobol that it remains that way. (Did you like that bit of Battlestar Galactica geekiness there? :)

Wish us luck in banishing the illness and pain from our castle.

This post was brought to you by the letters O, U, C, H, and the number 4.

Yet Another Update...

...on the remodel project. The North and West walls in the room are done and I have the closet and window walls remaining as well as the walls of the landing outside the bedroom. After that, is mudding and taping. YUM!!! :)

It's beginning to resemble a room a bit now. I'm happy about that though really tired when I go to bed each night.

This post was brought to you by the letters S,W,E,A,T, and the number 4.

Here's an Update...

...on the remodel project. The insulation has been completed and I've started on the drywall. The ceiling of the bedroom is complete and I plan to work on the walls this week. :) Then, I'll switch over and do the greenboard and hardy backer in the bathroom. After that, it's time to add the doors.

There is still a bit of framing left to do in the landing area, but I should be able to knock that out after work tomorrow.

I still don't have the pictures rescued from the Queen's camera, but once I do, I'll add them on here for you.

So far, it looks like we're still on time to have the bedroom done by the time the Prince arrives. The bathroom is another matter altogether. Since we're now going to tile the bathroom, we've decided it's OK to complete that AFTER the Prince arrives.

This post was brought to you by the letters T, I, R, E, D, and the number 5.

Basement Project...

Here's an update for those of you who are interested. I don't have pictures yet, but you'll forgive me for that, right? :)

The framing for the bedroom and bathroom is complete. I need to add another small bit of framing for the landing at the bottom of the stairs so that there will be an edge for the carpeting.

The plumbing supply lines have been run to the bathroom space complete with a pair of Master cutoffs for that bathroom.

The electrical work is nearly complete, just need to hook up a few lights and get an electrician to wire the outlet circuit into the electrical panel and check over the wiring.

I need to do the insulation once my part of the wiring is complete.

After that, there's the doors, the drywall, mudding and taping, finish carpentry, and then painting. All this needs to be complete by the last week of April.

I'll try to get pictures posted soon.

This post was brought to you by the letters S, T, U, D, and the number 100.

I'm Not Sure You're Supposed To Do That.

Here's an excerpt of a very recent conversation between my oldest princess and myself in which I explain to her that I'm trying to decide which of my offspring to eat for dessert. This threat is a daily threat with no actual backing, but it's fun to watch them squirm when I announce I plan to eat one of them. Here goes...

King Isepik: I'm trying to decide which one of my daughters to eat.
Pink Princess: [stops what she's doing and turns to look at me]
KI: I'm trying to decide if I should eat the oldest one or the youngest one -
PP: [blink]
KI: the tallest one or the shortest one. Perhaps I'll go with the one with the most visible teeth.
PP: That's me because Purple Dragon just lost a tooth.
KI: Maybe, but I can see the tooth that's replacing the one she just lost as well as the one that will replace the loose one she still has, so she has the most visible teeth.
PP: [blink]
KI: Maybe, I'll go with the one with the longest hair.
PP: [throwing the Queen under the bus - points] That would be Mommy.
KI: She's not my daughter.
PP: [blink]
KI: I can't go with the one who is the cutest, because I'd have to eat you both.
Queen: [interjecting herself into the conversation] Make sure whichever one you eat has the cleanest nose to cut down on the number of boogers you have to eat.
PP: [begins furiously blowing snot bubbles with her nose to increase the number of boogers in her nose]
Q: EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
KI: [I'm not sure you're supposed to do that] I'm not hungry...

I guess this means I'm not meant to eat either of them tonight.

Anyway, to those of you out there who are planning on celebrating tomorrows FAKE, MADE-UP, MARKETING PLOY - I say: Happy Valentine's Day. Please pardon me while I don my all black garb for the day and retch in the corner. To the rest of you, please join me in wearing black tomorrow in protest of fake holidays everywhere. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters V, D, and the number 14.

The Kingdom of Sick

Our kingdome is full of sick folk. One princess has Strep, the other has Pneumonia, The Queen thinks she has a cold, and the King (that's me) has a virus of some sort that floored me this morning. Hopefully, my high powered immune system will kick in and this thing will be over in just a few more hours.

Anyway, that's the deal today.

This post was brought to you by the letters V, I, R, U, S, and the number 4.

Have a Fender Bender?

Has the recent horrible weather caused any of you out there to have a collision of any sort recently? Looking for a place to fix up a ding or two from a collision you've had in your car? I haven't - and I'm knocking on wood that I don't - but if you have, check out the people at collisionrepairexperts.com.

I'm the type of person who likes to keep his vehicles looking good and running well. As a result, I'm picky when it comes to who I allow to perform any maintenance or repair work on my cars. I want to know that they have the necessary credentials to perform the work on my vehicle before I hand over the keys.

The people at collisionrepairexperts.com have an extensive network of auto body repair professionals. For example, you can enter "auto body shops denver" into their search engine for a list of members in the Denver area. If you happen to be an auto body professional, they're looking to expand their membership, so give them a call. They check out the people who seek membership so that only the cream of the crop get to be associated with their network.

I'm definitely going to visit collisionrepairexperts.com if I ever need repairs to the body of my cars.

This post was brought to you by the letters R, S, T, L, N, E, and the number 7

We Have HEAT!!!

There is now heat in the basement. Last night, I ran a duct and tapped the main supply to provide heat for future bedroom in the basement. It just happens to provide heat to the area where I'll be working. :) I'll post pics once I get them off the Queen's camera.

The Queen just told me this morning that she thinks it's silly to heat the basement when it's not insulated. In principal, I agree with her, however, the heat happen to be one of those necessary items that needs to be run sooner rather than later, along with plumbing which I'll need to alter really soon. Besides, As long as we'll need to be working down there, it has to have some heat and I can always turn off the vents and direct the airflow up through the house instead. It won't cost us any more than using an electric heater down there while I'm working, so I don't really see a problem.

Am I alone in this train of thought or is the bridge out ahead?

I got a surprise when I was working on the heat down there last night and I'll post about it later. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters H, E, A, T, and the number 9.

Fingers?, Toes? What are those things?

It is frakking COLD! The boiler at work broke at some point over the weekend and I could see my breath when I walked into my office this morning. It's only marginally better at this point, but typing is a real challenge. Unfortunately for me, I have craptacular circulation in my hands and toes so they'll be cold for the next week or so.

I've been in my fleece and coat all day in an effort to fight off the insanity, but I'm not really sure how well I'm doing in this fight. This is probably a bad sign, but such is life, eh? :)

On to other things, I have enough materials (once I get a bucket of nails and a small shopvac) to start work in the basement of our house now. Of course it still isn't cleared out, but there are a few more items I can do before I start the framing. I have to relocate/reconfigure a few pipes, run a heating duct into the bedroom and add a cold air return to the space in the basement all of which can be done before the framing starts.

Wish me luck! I'll take pictures and post them. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters S, B, Y, E, and the number 3.

The Big Work Begins...

This afternoon after work, I'm going to go get supplies to begin our home improvement project. This means that the big work on the project will begin really soon now.

One of the more onerous tasks I have to deal with is the fact that I now have to dig a hole outside my house to locate and seal the source of a slow seep into our basement where the renovation will occur. In case you've not been reading along, I'm recovering from a sprained wrist and we have had atrocious weather recently.

I'm planning on doing what I can inside and hoping for a warm weekend or something that will allow me to be outside for extended periods of time while working without freezing. :) None of us likes to freeze, so here's hoping...

Anyway, I'm not whining about it, I'm just informing you all that I'll be really busy for a while and I may appear to be a bit cranky for a few months. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters U, G, H, and the number 133.

It's a Sprain - I Think

I sprained my wrist I think. I know it's not broken, I can use the wrist for the most part like normal, but twisting motions hurt something fierce. It's better now than Sunday afternoon, but it certainly isn't pleasant. Sometimes I feel like an idiot for injuring it in the first place, but then again, I had to relocate all the cold white stuff on the driveway and sidewalks. :)

How did I do it? You're dying to know, aren't you? :) Well, that's a quick story. I was shoveling and the shovel hit a seam in the concrete sidewalk and stopped dead. Unfortunately, I had just started the forward stroke of the shovel, so the abrupt jarring from the handle of the shovel sent a sharp pain up through the handle and into my wrist where it got mired down in all the ligaments, bones, and whatnot that lives in my arm. It pitched a tent and I've spent the last couple of days trying to evict it. :)

Here's the part that will make you realize just how very stupid I am. When this happened, I just shook my arm, cussed a bit about it, and continued shoveling. :) I had to shovel the snow, you see.

I think I may have just nominated myself to go to the shallow end of the gene pool. Good thing too, because I can't float! :)

This post was brought to you by the letters P, A, I, N, and the number 127.

A BOY!!!

Woot! We're having a boy! Not that I don't like my daughters. I do, but I've wanted a boy for quite some time now and according to the ultrasound, that's what we're getting! :)

I'm stoked to have another male in the house to commiserate with. :)

I'm sure the Queen will update her blog one of these years and give you more details.

This post was brought to you by the letters X, Y, and the number 3.